Western Michigan University ScholarWorks at WMU Dissertations Graduate College 12-2013 The Impact of Institutional Culture on Student Activism: A Multi- Case Study in Christian Higher Education Brian E. Cole Western Michigan University, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/dissertations Part of the Christianity Commons, and the Higher Education Commons Recommended Citation Cole, Brian E., "The Impact of Institutional Culture on Student Activism: A Multi-Case Study in Christian Higher Education" (2013). Dissertations. 199. https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/dissertations/199 This Dissertation-Open Access is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate College at ScholarWorks at WMU. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks at WMU. For more information, please contact [email protected]. THE IMPACT OF INSTITUTIONAL CULTURE ON STUDENT ACTIVISM: A MULTI-CASE STUDY IN CHRISTIAN HIGHER EDUCATION by Brian E. Cole A dissertation submitted to the Graduate College in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Educational Leadership, Research and Technology Western Michigan University December 2013 Doctoral Committee: Donna M. Talbot, Ph.D., Chair Andrea L. Beach, Ph.D. Jeffrey P. Bouman, Ph.D. THE IMPACT OF INSTITUTIONAL CULTURE ON STUDENT ACTIVISM: A MULTI-CASE STUDY IN CHRISTIAN HIGHER EDUCATION Brian E. Cole, Ph.D. Western Michigan University, 2013 This study contributes to the description and meaning of student activism within the context of Christian college environments and cultures, and is interpreted through the sociological concept of symbolic interactionism. The purpose of this study is to help fill the void in the literature on student activism at Christian colleges and universities, positioning it within literature of broader Christian culture and activism, Christian higher education, generational history of college student activism, and student development theories and leadership models. The goal of the study is to help create an understanding of how students at Christian institutions understand and engage in activism within their college’s culture, and to provide institutional leaders information about these student activists and campus cultures as they create policy, plan learning activities and programs, and advise students. This multi-case study, conducted at two Christian colleges in the Midwest, answers the questions: How do current students, studying at a Christian college or university, understand the concept of activism; what are the institutional facilitating factors or barriers in relation to student activism and how do they shape student activities; and how do students make meaning of their activism within the Christian campus culture as they think about their future activism? Data were received through 23 individual interviews with elite samples of student activists and were triangulated through two follow-up focus groups, 15 individual interviews with elite samples of staff and faculty, campus observation, and archival records. One finding to emerge from the within-case analysis and multi-case synthesis was that student activists at Christian colleges understand activism the way their institutions teach them and through an educational paradigm. Student activists were also found to embrace and work within institutional systems that control student activism, making meaning of their activism through their institutional construct. © 2013 Brian E. Cole ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The completion of this dissertation was only possible with the help of my committee members, friends, and family, for whom I am sincerely grateful. I would like to thank my dissertation chair, Dr. Donna Talbot, for her guidance, perseverance, and care through the completion of my study. I would also like to thank Dr. Andrea Beach for her help with this topic early on in the process and for co-authoring an article with me on it, as well as her supervision and mentorship through my research and teaching assistantship. Finally, I would like to thank Dr. Jeffrey Bouman for his willingness to share his expertise on service-learning and for providing insight about and helping me gain access to one of my case study contexts. I would also like to thank all my friends and family members for their love and support through this long journey. More specifically, I would like to thank my wife, Jen, and daughter, Gracie. Despite the sacrifices they had to make throughout this process, they remained optimistic and vocal encouragers to me. I would also like to thank Dave, my father-in-law, for his selfless investment of personal time and resources in helping me complete this project. I could not have done this without any of these people. Brian E. Cole ii TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ...................................................................................... ii LIST OF FIGURES ................................................................................................ ix CHAPTER I. CHAPTER I .......................................................................................... 1 Context ................................................................................................ 2 Literature Review ................................................................................ 3 Conceptual Framework ....................................................................... 3 Research Questions ............................................................................. 5 Definition of Terms ............................................................................. 5 II. CHAPTER II ........................................................................................ 7 Symbolic Interactionism ..................................................................... 8 Organization and Culture .................................................................... 11 Christian Culture ................................................................................. 14 Social Justice ....................................................................................... 18 Christian Culture Activism ................................................................. 21 Biblical Connections ................................................................... 23 Christian Higher Education Context ................................................... 25 Generational History of American College Student Activism ............ 27 Pre-1900 Student Activism .......................................................... 28 1900 to 1980 Student Activism ................................................... 30 Post-1980 Student Activism ........................................................ 31 iii Table of Contents—continued CHAPTER Generation X Student Activism ................................................... 31 Millennial Student Activism ........................................................ 35 Student Development Perspectives ..................................................... 40 Moral Development ..................................................................... 40 Student Involvement .................................................................... 43 Leadership ........................................................................................... 43 Leadership for Social Change ..................................................... 44 Institutional Support for Student Activism ......................................... 46 Service-Learning ................................................................................. 47 Summary ............................................................................................. 50 III. CHAPTER III ....................................................................................... 52 Two Case Study Contexts ................................................................... 53 Calvin College ............................................................................. 53 Vision ................................................................................... 54 Ethos ..................................................................................... 54 People ................................................................................... 54 Wheaton College ......................................................................... 55 Vision ................................................................................... 55 Ethos ..................................................................................... 55 People ................................................................................... 55 Data Collection Methods, Procedures, and Instrumentation ............... 56 iv Table of Contents—continued CHAPTER Sampling, Subjects, Access, and Setting ............................................ 59 Data Analysis ...................................................................................... 63 IV. CHAPTER IV ....................................................................................... 65 Overview ............................................................................................. 65 Case 1: Student Activism at Calvin College ....................................... 66 Stories of Activism ...................................................................... 68 Primary Incident of Activism: Wood Lot ............................ 68 Activism Vignette: Immigration Rally ................................